In wake of the terrible Oregon shooting tragedy, Hillary Clinton addressed the need to “fight for new, effective gun control measures” and to create a “national movement” to end gun violence in America.
As Hillary called out Republicans for “refusing to do anything to protect our communities,” Jeb Bush responded to a question on gun violence, simply stating that “stuff happens.”
Hillary Clinton’s full response:
“I will tell you, I am going to fight for new, effective gun control measures. I gotta tell you it is just heartbreaking, it is sickening to me to see another massacre.
“People should not have be afraid to go to college, like this one, or go to the movie theater, or go to bible study. What is wrong with us? That we cant stand up to the NRA to the gun lobby and the gun manufacturers they represent? You know, this is not just tragic. We don’t just need to pray for people, we need to act and we need to build a movement. It’s infuriating.
“Every time there’s another massacre, Republicans and the NRA say, ‘Now is not the time to talk about guns.’ Yes it is. But more than talk, it is time to act. But Republicans keep refusing to do anything to protect our communities. They put the NRA ahead of American families. It is wrong and we need to make every politician who sides with them look into the eyes of parents whose children have been murdered, and explain why they listen to the gun lobbyists instead.
“I am well aware that this is a political mountain to climb, but you don’t get anything done in this country if you don’t start by calling it out and we have had too many murders, too many people who should have never gotten guns in the first place, take out whatever their rage, their fury, their mental problems are by killing other people.
“And I will as your president, never relent on trying to work on this, but we need a national movement. You know, here’s what the other side counts on, I don’t think they represent the majority of Americans or even the majority of gun owners, but they count on really having an intense, dedicated group that scare politicians and say, ‘We will vote against you.’ And people on the other side who are heart-sick, heartbroken, disgusted, care about a lot of other issues.
“We care about college affordability and prescription drug costs, we are not single-minded voters. But each of us has to care about this issue. There are a lot of ways for us to have constitutional, legal gun restrictions. My husband did it. He passed the Brady Bill and he eliminated assault weapons for ten years. So, we’re going to take them on. We took them on in the 90’s. We’re gonna take them on again. And I will need your help to do that.”